#russia-ukraine-negotiations

#russia-ukraine-negotiations

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz embarked on a three-day trip to the Gulf region on Wednesday, where he is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The trip comes on the back of visits to Africa and Latin America at the end of last year and after a trip to India in January (see video), as Merz looks to strengthen Germany's partnerships with counties outside the European Union and NATO.

Driving the news: The talks in Miami take place after a five-hour meeting between Trump's advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Russian President Putin on Tuesday. President Trump said the talks in Moscow were "very good" and stressed his envoys came back with the impression that Putin wants to make a deal. No immediate breakthroughs were announced, and both Moscow and Washington kept mum on the details of the discussion.

The European Commission has presented its plan to use frozen Russian state assets to help fund Ukraine. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the proposal would create a reparations loan, drawing on cash balances from immobilized Russian assets in the EU. "We have strong safeguards in place throughout to protect member states and reduce risks as much as possible," von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels. "For example, to ensure that an illegitimate award outside the Union cannot be enforced within.